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Edith "Edie" Windsor, right, sued the federal government after her life partner and same-sex spouse Thea Spyer, left, died in 2007 and she was forced to pay more than $363,000 in estate taxes that she would not have had to pay had her spouse been a man. The case was eventually taken up by the American Civil Liberties Union and became the case that on Wednesday changed the 1996 law permanently thanks to a 5-4 decision from the Supreme Court of the United States of America. (Photo courtesy of ACLU)

The 5-4 decision in regards to the United States v. Windsor case stated that it was unconstitutional to force Edith "Edie" Windsor to pay more than $363,000 in estate taxes following the death of her longtime partner and legal spouse Thea Spyer.

"What the court did today was strike down DOMA as a violation of the equal protection clause and the impact this will have on married couples in all 50 states is huge," said Carol Rose, executive director of the Massachusetts American Civil Liberties Union. "There are more than 1,100 federal benefits tied to marriage that this ruling will grant same-sex couples. And it is important for the principal of the matter that all marriages should be treated equally."

Rose explained that Windsor and Spyer were together for 44 years, engaged for 40 and legally married in New York state for two years when Spyer passed away following a battle with multiple sclerosis in 2007. And since the federal government refused to acknowledge their marriage as legitimate, in accordance with the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, Windsor was forced to pay $363,053 in estate taxes for inheriting from her spouse what would have automatically transferred without penalty for a straight couple.

"For most couples, that would have bankrupted the surviving spouse and forced them to move out of the house they shared. But Edie just paid the bill and sued," Rose said. "And in the end, the Supreme Court ruling is a victory or not just her but all LGBT couples as they will no longer be denied the same benefits as other married couples."

But despite the fact that the federal government will now recognize same sex marriages performed in states where they are legal, a separate provision of the federal marriage law that allows a state to not recognize a same-sex union from elsewhere remains in place.

Still, the court's decision is considered a major victory not just for the ACLU, but the LGBT rights movement in the U.S. and elsewhere as it represents the first time the federal government will formally acknowledge same sex marriages.